Transcription
Growing up in Sunday school, I was taught from the Bible, those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed. And from my perspective, I want to be on the blessing side of things. The those who bless the government of Israel. Those who bless Israel is what it doesn't say the government of. It says the nation of Israel. Is that what Genesis 12:3 really means? This isn't about political talking points, friends. This is about God's promise for the whole world. So, if you're wondering who's right in this disagreement between Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson, and you're wondering what God's plans are for Israel, you found the right video. So, let's get right into it.
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Welcome back to Wise Disciple. My name is Nate Salah, and I'm helping you become the effective Christian that you are meant to be, which means understanding the Bible's consistent testimony about Israel and the world. Don't forget to like, sub, and share this one around. This video got a lot of people asking questions, so I pray it's a blessing.
You suggested it was a strange thing that I said a minute ago that when I came into the Senate, I resolved that I was going to be the leading defender of Israel. And what you didn't ask is why. So, let me tell you why. No, you said I was obsessed with Israel. And you had just told me that like your driving motive to get to the Senate was to defend Israel. I'm like, I don't think I'm the one who's obsessed with Israel. Tucker, words matter. Uh huh. So, already off on the wrong foot. Uh this is a tense exchange and you can tell you know even in these first few seconds Cruz I mean this is in the middle of the uh interview by the way but Cruz is particularly upset with Carlson here and Carlson's not helping by defending himself either but uh let's see what happens the and you know that I said I resolved to be the leading defender of Israel and you said your driving motive the reason you're in the Senate you want to be the leading defender of Israel I would think if I ran for Senate I'd be like there are people dying of drug ID on the street my driving motive is to fight for Texas and America and to fight for jobs and to fight for the Constitution and and you played a very very careful word game of a lie. You're the one who said it, not me.
So, you still haven't asked why, but I'm going to tell you why. Okay? And and the reason is twofold. Number one, as a Christian, growing up in Sunday school, I was taught from the Bible, those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed. And from my perspective, I want to be on the blessing side of things. Oh, the those who bless the government of Israel, those who bless Israel is what it doesn't say the government of. It says the nation of Israel. So that's in the Bible. As a Christian, I believe that. Where is that? I I can find it to you. I don't have the the scripture off the tip of mine. So let's go there for reference. Okay.
There are actually two places essentially. Um both are promises made to Abraham or Abram. But let's look at the first one. Genesis 12:2 God says, "I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Now this promise comes at a time right at the very beginning uh of Abram's journey. You know Abraham is still Abram. He has no child, no prospects. Uh at this point he's an old man. I mean, you know, he starts his journey as an old man, and the Lord has put him and his family on this journey that he does not fully understand.
Now, this isn't the only time that God makes a promise like this. Look uh ahead a couple of chapters in Genesis 17. Behold, this is the Lord again. My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham. For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make you into nations plural. And the kings shall come from you. So notice Abraham will not merely be the father of Israel, a nation, but a multitude of nations. Hm, that's interesting. The Apostle Paul is going to have something to say about that later, but for your reference, those are the important passages.
You pull out the phone and use it. It's in Genesis. But so you're quoting a a Bible phrase you don't have context for and you don't know where in the Bible it is, but that's like your theology. I'm confused. What does that even mean? Tucker, I'm a Christian. I want to know what you're talking about. Where does where does my support for Israel come from? Number one, because biblically we are commanded to support Israel. But number two, yeah. Yeah.
So, so Cruz is doubling down on his original claim, but he's not explaining how he came to the conclusion that his efforts in government to defend the nation of Israel align to the promises of God to Abraham in Genesis. Now, at this point, he might be right, but how would we know that unless he supports his claim? No, no, no. Hold on. You're a senator and now you're throwing out theology, and I am a Christian. I am allowed to weigh in on this. We are commanded as Christians to support the government of Israel. We are commanded to support Israel and we're told those who bless Israel will be blessed. But what? Hold on. Define Israel. This is important. Are you kidding? I this this majority Christian country define Israel. Could do you not know what Israel is? That would be the country you've asked like 49 questions about. So that's what Genesis that's what God is talking about. Nation of Israel. Yes. And and so is that the current borders the current So Cruz is saying that Genesis says nation of Israel.
Now, at this point, some of you are getting upset, you know, and this is probably a mixed bag. Some of you are probably upset with Cruz. Some of you are upset with Tucker Carlson. Some of you might even get upset with me. Uh, but if you can try to like, you know, set aside all the politics of the whole entire thing, what I'm trying to do, the whole point of this interview is to understand what the Bible actually teaches. Doesn't matter whether you like it or not. What does the Bible actually say at the end of the day? If we can clearly determine that, then we can start to figure out foreign policy or whatever else uh they're talking about. Amen.
So, so Cruz says it's talking about the nation of Israel. Um is that is that what the passage is talking about? Take a look at it yourself. Somebody's getting upset. I can already tell. Right now, I will say this just so you know where I'm headed. Cruz is wrong. And in a way, he's kind of right, you know, but he's right. Not based on Genesis 12. And I'll explain what I mean, but you're going to have to stick with me. We're going to go through this together in just a moment. Leadership. He's talking about the political entity called Israel. He's talking about the nation of Israel. Yeah. Nations exists and he is discussing a nation. A nation was the people of Israel. The nation referring to in Genesis. Is that the same as the country run by Benjamin Netanyahu right now? Yes. Yes, it is. And by the way, it's not run by Benjamin Netanyahu as a dictator. It's it's a democratic country that elected the prime minister. What? But just just like you know America is the country run by Donald Trump. No, actually the American people elected Donald Trump. The same principle. This is silly. I'm talking about the political entity of modern Israel. Yes. And that is you believe that's what God was talking about in Genesis. I do. But but that country's existed since when? Uh for thousands of years. Now there was a time when it didn't exist and then was recreated just over 70 years. But I'm saying I think most people understand that line in Genesis to refer to the Jewish people, God's chosen people. That's not what it says. Okay. Israel, but you don't even know where in the Bible it is. So I I don't I don't remember the scriptural citation, but okay. I keep It's like Genesis 16 or something like that. But yes, it's in the early part of the book. The point is it's irrelevant to me before I finish. It's important to know what you're talking about. I don't know what you're So you're saying as a Christian if I believe in Jesus I have to support the modern state of Israel. I'm not saying that you I'm explaining for me what my motivation is. But you Okay. So I'm just trying to understand you said God tells you to support the modern state of Israel in the Bible in some place in the Bible that you heard about but you don't know where it is. That's your theology. You're going back. Am I a sleazy feline again? I mean if you accuse me of anti-semitism I will say that but I don't think you will. Try to be a little less condescending. I'm trying to have a convercending. You're throwing this stuff out and it's my job to figure out what you're talking about.
But Carlson is absolutely being condescending and I think ultimately he's hurting his goals. You know, if his goal is to challenge Cruz, he could just ask the questions, you know, and then move on, right? The American people are smart enough to be able to understand what's going on here. They can they can, you know, put two and two together. But the way that he's acting, he keeps doubling down on these particular phrases to make Cruz look that it's as if Cruz uh drank coffee out of Carlson's favorite mug this morning. You know what I mean? And Carlson is hot about it. You know, I don't understand. But you're not letting me. Okay, I'm sorry. I want to be polite. That is for me a personal motivation, but I also what I was about to say, I don't believe my personal faith. Not everyone who I represent is a Christian. It's not an argument for me to give that that we should do this because of my faith. And so as as an elected official, I don't give that as the reason we should support Israel. That is a personal motivation for me, but but I don't think it is the reason we should. The reason that I am the leading defender of Israel is because Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East, an incredibly troubled part of the world, and supporting Israel benefits America.
All right, so he pulled out of the skid there. Okay, so um but he did make a claim about the scripture, ladies and gentlemen. And the question is, is he right? Now, it's funny, you know, I I heard the clip uh yesterday or something like that, and I immediately thought of the church that I grew up in. So, I grew up in Calvary Chapels. Not sure if you're familiar. Um I still have a lot of love for Calvary Chapels. You know, Calvary, if you don't know, it's uh Chuck Smith out of Costa Mesa. So if you saw the movie Jesus Revolution, that's basically the story of how Calvary Chapel started popping off. When I was a kid, uh this I heard this particular uh sentiment all the time, right? This claim, if we bless Israel, we will be blessed. If we curse Israel, we will be cursed. Now, for the record, I love that. I love the sentiment, you know, and I think that we should seek to bless the modern nation of Israel and the Jewish people. and I'll explain. However, Genesis 12:3 and Genesis 17:4 is not the basis to do so. Those passages do not support Ted Cruz. How do I know that? Well, because the New Testament says so.
All right. Now, we're going to go to the text. I'm what I'm not going to do is a deep dive here. I'm going to try to keep this video uh at a 30,000 ft level so that you can grasp kind of the forest, you know, um cuz it's easy to get lost in the trees, but let's run through what God is doing in the Bible through Israel. Uh so that you can see what's really going on here. Uh okay, what's really happening? Now, obviously, we know about the story of Adam and Eve. They sit in the garden and then they leave the garden. Mankind uh flourishes so to say like they u multiply and then in genes Genesis 12 verse1 this is what happens God chooses a man by the name of Abram to leave his homeland now the Lord said to Abram go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you uh but immediately God casts vision for Abram and he tells him I will make of you a great nation we went over it. Verse 2 and three, right? You will be a blessing. But wait a second. As I showed you in Genesis 17, God also says, um, I'm not just going to make you a nation. I'm going to make you a multitude of nations. Okay, wait a second. Which is it? Right? Will Abram be one nation or more than one? Now, this is key to understanding the writings of the New Testament authors because they're going to make a lot of hay out of this. Uh, and we'll go there in a moment, but let's keep going forward.
Okay, so fast forward to Moses. Now, um, the descendants of Abraham have been freed from Egypt, and now they are a new nation under a law called the Torah. And this is all part of a covenant that is cut between God and this nation of people, the Israelites. But why has God done this? Is it so uh the Israelites can go build a city and build a bunch of walls and live inside of them and never uh engage with the outside world? Totally forget about the rest of the nations? No, it's to fulfill what God told Abram all those years ago. They are supposed to bless the nations. This is how God says it to Israel in Exodus chapter 19. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Okay? Now, a lot of us uh zoom in on that phrase, kingdom of priests and a holy nation. And I've done this too in the past, and we say we we yes and amen that, right? The New Testament picks that up as well. Uh and it's a wonderful phrase. I love it. It kind of gives you a good picture of the function and role of God's people. Okay? But when we see this, we tend to bury the lead, you know, or at least one of the important components to this passage because uh it's not as if Israel is meant to be priests and a nation to each other and forget about the rest of the world. They're supposed to be among the peoples. They're supposed to be blessing the people of the nations, uh the Gentiles.
Now the point is the covenant that God cuts with the Israelites is conditional. You know, you can see it uh here in verse 5. If you obey my voice and if you keep my covenant, Israel will be a light to the world. Uh that's Isaiah 49:6, right? But guess what? The Old Testament shows us time and time again that Israel indeed breaks their covenant agreement with God. And then what happens next? They go into exile. They they go right back into the uh environment within which God found them in the first place. You know, this is how Jeremiah puts it in. Jeremiah 11:10. They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers. This is the Lord speaking. They've turned back. They refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers.
So now what happens? We have a people that were promised by God to be used to bless the nations. They were supposed to be a light to the world and they refused. They turned back to their uh previous gods. Right? And so what does God do? He promises a new covenant will come one day. Jeremiah 31:31. Behold, the days are coming, uh, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Okay. Ezekiel says that God will give his people a new heart and put his spirit inside them. Right? Some of you already know where this is headed. Okay? Uh but you know again just to recap, God makes promises uh that Abram will be the father of a multitude of nations. God forms Israel and desires to use them as a light to the world and an image of what it means uh to be truly human and live according to God's desires. And all of this is meant to undo the fall in the Garden of Eden. You know, to put the world back together after having been so horrifically broken, right? All right, you with me?
This is why um much of the prophecies that were given in the Old Testament are spoken as if to Israel. All right, look at this. Isaiah 49:3. And he said to me, you are my servant Israel, in whom I will be glorified. The servant is Israel. In Isaiah 49:3, this is the Lord speaking, right? Uh look at verse 4. But I said, "I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing in vanity. Yet surely my right is with the Lord and my recompense with my God." And now the Lord says, "Uh, it is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel. I will make you as a light for the nations." H that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. You realize, ladies and gentlemen, Israel was meant to be the salvation and the light for all the nations all over the world. This comes again directly from God's promise to Abram in Genesis. In you, I will bless all the families of the earth. Abram would be the father of a multitude of the nations. But wait a second. Israel broke its covenant with God. So, how can God continue to make these promises to Israel?
Here comes Jesus Christ. Right? Here comes Jesus. Uh, by the way, I'm I'm doing a study of the Gospel of Matthew on my second channel. It's called Every Word. Uh, I encourage you to check it out, especially if you want to go deeper into what I'm saying here because I'm really giving this the short shrift here. Uh, but Jesus now arrives on the scene. This is New Testament. And he's essentially three things, okay? He's the new Moses, he's the Torah, and he's Israel. Has anybody heard this before? Hopefully you haven't. Uh or I mean hopefully you have heard this before. He's the new Moses. He's the Torah. And he's Israel. And uh by those last two, I mean he's the embodiment and the total fulfillment of those things. Okay, I have to keep moving along. Uh but just just think about these pieces really quickly. All right, so uh look at this. Deuteronomy 18, Moses says that uh he promised that one day a prophet like him would come and teach the very words of God to the people. All right, that's Deuteronomy 18:18. That's Jesus. Jesus said in John 12 that the words that he's speaking are not his own, but they come directly from the father in heaven. All right, that's Deuteronomy 18 right there. Jesus is saying, "I'm the new Moses. I'm the prophet who was to come." But he's way more than that. All right. Um, in Psalm 119, it says that those who walk uh in the Torah of God or the law of the Lord, right, their way, think about that, their way of life essentially will be blameless. Wait a second. As Christians, we're familiar with this phrase. There is a phrase that uh the church was called in the book of acts. It was called the way was it not? And why were they called that? It's because of what Jesus said in John 14. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Jesus is speaking very Jewishly to an audience that I suspect would immediately think of Psalm 119:1. You know, of Proverbs chapter 6, of Deuteronomy 6, you know, Jesus said that he came um to fulfill the law in Matthew 5, which again, I mean, think about this as a Jew would have heard this, right? Uh Jewishly it means that he came to properly interpret the law which indicates that it was being misinterpreted right but notice Jesus doesn't say uh when he gives the sermon on the mount it is written as if to defer authority to uh God in God's word Jesus says I tell you right why because Jesus is the fulfillment of Torah and not only that I'm going fast here he is the fulfillment of Israel, right? Have you ever wondered why uh Jesus escapes from Egypt? Why he goes into the wilderness? Why he performs the activities uh that Israel were meant to perform and lives out the prophecies given to Israel, right? It's because he's recapitulating the journey of Israel. He's walking out or living out Israel's journey and fulfilling their purpose. Only this time, he's doing it perfectly and without sin and uh without forsaking his father in heaven. Again, this is really fast, okay? And so, you need to spend time on these things I'm offering here. Go deeper into all of these references.
But this all leads to the question of Israel according to the Bible. Who is Israel? The answer is Jesus. Jesus is the true Israel. He is the true fulfillment of Israel. This is why Jesus says in John 15, I am the true vine. I mean friends, you realize in the Old Testament, Israel was considered the vine of God, right? But that vine had failed. And so Jesus came to be the true vine that bears fruit, right? in order to redeem um not only Israel, right? Remember Isaiah 49. He's going to bring back the preserved of Israel, but also all the nations, all those who would repent and place faith in him and follow after him. Amen. If they do that, they will partake of the new covenant in Jesus' blood. Uh the one that Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied about the new covenant that would extend to the whole world thus blessing all the families of the earth. Can you see uh the cohesion that goes all the way back to the Old Testament, right?
This is how the Apostle Paul explains it in Galatians 3. And if you are Christ, Christ's then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. What was the promise? the promises in Genesis 12:17. Paul also says those promises to Abram, you know, they weren't about offspring plural or multiple offsprings. They were actually only about one offspring in particular, Jesus Christ. Uh verse 16, same chapter. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say and to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one and to your offspring who is Christ. Right? Can you see that Jesus is the fulfillment of Israel? He is the basis for the promise of blessing to the world. Which means if you bless who? If you bless the modern nation of Israel, you will be blessed. No. If you bless Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of Israel, you will be blessed. If you curse Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of Israel, you will be cursed. You see how the Bible speaks about this?
You know, it's a lot to take in, especially if you haven't heard this stuff before. And I understand that, and I'm going really quickly. Um, granted, right? Uh, let me say this because at the outset I I suggested that Ted Cruz was kind of right about the nation of Israel. Now, here's where it gets interesting, you know, and then we get into speculation, right? Objection, your honor, speculation, right? Um, I think that we need to continue to seek to bless the nation of Israel as Christians. Even though I've shown you what the Bible says about all these things, I think that we still should seek the blessing of the nation of Israel. Why? Because of Romans 11. Watch this. Uh now this this is like a whole other video for another time because I can't read the whole thing. But what Paul is saying here again, you have to read this when I'm done is uh God has not rejected his people. Okay, what has happened is the elect within Israel followed Jesus. Okay, praise the Lord. But the rest were hardened. And through their hardening and through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Again, praise the Lord. But then he says this in verse 12. Now, if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean? Okay. Now, we I've uh hit this a couple of times in previous videos. Paul is speaking and he's utilizing a Jewish teaching method called kalvahome from the lesser to the greater. So what Paul is saying is Israel's hardened the ethnic people of Israel are hardened now and guess what that has produced blessings to the nations but they will return again the nation itself. That's how I I that's how I read the passage. I'm not the only one. This is how Douglas Moo has read the passage. I think that makes the most sense of the flow of thought coming from Paul. The nation of Israel will one day as a nation turn and recognize Jesus as their Messiah. All right. This is the day that Paul looks ahead to. Look at this verse 23. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. All right. So, you had this idea uh that Paul works through in Romans 11. The natural branches are broken off so that the gentile branches can be grafted in. But now Paul is saying that the natural branches, God has the power to graft them back in again. Paul seems to think and speak as if the nation of Israel will all return one day. Look at this verse 25. Uh a partial hardening uh has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in and in this way all Israel will be saved. All Israel, they will all recognize their true Messiah. And as far as I can tell, hasn't happened yet. Right? Still is something that we should be looking to in the future and hopefully in our own lifetimes. Amen.
And so what does that mean for Gentiles, right? Well, two things. Uh Paul says, number one, don't be arrogant toward the branches, right? If some of the branches were broken off, don't be arrogant towards them. You know, uh don't be arrogant towards the Jews. But number two, I think we should be actively seeking the blessing and the flourishing of the Jewish people. Why do I say that? Well, because Paul says that they are still beloved for the sake of their forefathers. All right. Now, imagine that. You know, isn't that interesting? Look at this verse 28. As regards the gospel, they the Jews are enemies for your sake. As regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. Right? And what he's saying here is because of the wonderful example that the forefathers gave the whole world. I mean these are men like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, right? Because of them we are told that their hardened ancestors who are alive in the first century, these are who Paul are speaking to that the ones who rejected their Messiah, they're still beloved because of the faithfulness of their forefathers. These people are still beloved.
So that's what I mean. Um, I think Ted Cruz is kind of right that, you know, we should be seeking to bless the nation of Israel. However, you know, does that equate to foreign policy? And, you know, what does that mean for American government? I don't know. That's not even my place to say. I will say this. If you take a good long look at what Paul says in Romans 11, I wonder if our evangelism and our apologetics as Christians, uh, biblically understood should be 100% focused on the Jewish people, right? Because it it kind of seems to me like Paul is suggesting that after the fullness of the Gentiles is complete, all of Israel will be saved. And I wonder if those last two pieces uh to fall into place will happen and then Jesus will come back. I don't know. Okay. I don't know. I'm chewing on it. Um but anyway, TLDDR, God has not abandoned Israel. He's faithful. Jesus is the fulfillment of Israel. That's how he has not abandoned Israel. and one day Paul says Israel uh will turn to their Messiah and it will be like life from the dead. But until then we honor Jesus. We we seek to bless Jesus right as a fulfillment of Israel's story and we call all people Jew and Gentile to trust in him. Amen.
All right, Well, now it's your turn. Uh what do you think about this exchange between Cruz and Carlson? Who's right? Who's wrong? Let me know in the comments. Hey, let's not forget to pray for the world. You know what I mean? Golly, there's so much turmoil uh going on and uh strife and uncertainty. Uh but I trust that the king of all creation will be able to sort this one out. Amen. Let's pray for God's favor. Uh let's pray for cool heads of the leaders of the nations who are all involved here. Uh and let's pray for God's salvation and his restoration and his healing to take over the entire world. Right.
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